


bulletproof

by TheSecretsLie



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Identity Reveal, Injury, It's not life threatening really, but it isn't a minor injury, i know this is just so original, there is talk of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 10:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18914920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecretsLie/pseuds/TheSecretsLie
Summary: Ladybug's miraculous cure fixed damage caused by an akuma or other forms of magic. That’s why she was now swinging through the streets of Paris with a bleeding alley cat clutched to her side.





	bulletproof

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for a while in little bits but i just couldn't manage an ending i was satisfied with. Finally decided the bite the bullet (ha) and just post it.  
> Enjoy!

             Ladybug’s miraculous cure fixed damage caused by an akuma, or other forms of magic. It rebuilt buildings that had crumbled, returned those that had disappeared, and it healed any ailments that befell as a direct result of the incident. Ladybug and Chat Noir had sustained plenty of slight injuries over the time they’d been superheroes, but their suits protected them from a lot. The suits made them more durable and helped heal them, even dulled pain so they could keep fighting. The suits were not indestructible though. Her miraculous cure fixed damage caused by an akuma or other forms of magic. That’s why she was now swinging through the streets of Paris with a bleeding alley cat clutched to her side.

             As a direct result of aforementioned bleeding partner, Ladybug was panicking. Being Ladybug had made her more confident and improved her problem solving, but she was still Marinette, she was still only sixteen. At sixteen she hadn’t seen a lot of things yet, and she’d definitely not been present when someone was **_shot._ **So yeah, she was panicking. Chat was breathing heavily against her, tensing up when ever she switched to swing from another building, for once without a comment to make. Her earrings beeped, warning her that she had to make a choice and fast. All at once she spotted her balcony and landed on it, grimacing at the small grunt Chat slipped out as she sat him on her lounger. She spared him a glance and noticed his increasing pallor. Ladybug looked around desperately, hoping for solution to appear. Her luck ran dry, no solution this time.

            “Chat I-I think we’re going to have to go de-transform somewhere, so I can get you to a hospital, we can’t risk our identities getting out to the public. We, **_merde,_** we can come up with some sort of story for how you got hurt we ca-“ suddenly her miraculous let out one last beep and with an unceremonious pink light she was Marinette with Tikki floating beside her. Chat’s labored breathing held for a moment in shock.

            “Marinette?” Marinette continued pacing, though a small voice in her head was screaming because Chat knew who she was. Not even just her identity he actually knew Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

            “ ** _Dieu,_** I don’t know what to do!” Before Chat could reply he felt something poke at his wounded thigh and he let out a yelp. Tikki reappeared from where she’d been examining Chat’s wound with a frown.

            “Marinette there’s another problem. The suit, it slowed the bullet down enough that it didn’t make it all the way through,” the red kwami suddenly spoke, her distress evident.

            “You mean its-“

            “S-still in my leg,” Chat finished with a groan. Tikki nodded solemnly.

            “And, well, your accelerated healing is closing the wound around it already, if we wait much longer you’d have to have surgery to remove it.” Chat shook his head vehemently.

            “I-I can’t, my father, there’s no way he’d ever let me leave the house again if he found out about this. Just…Just take it out, please Marinette.” Marinette’s eyes bugged out of her head, and she shook her head vigorously

            “No way! I can’t, I can’t do that! I’m not qualified, and we don’t have any pain medicine and just- no Chat this is a bad idea.”

            “Please Marinette he’ll n-never let me leave again, I’d rather suffer some pain then become a prisoner again,” Chat begged, desperation in his eyes. Marinette felt tears welling up in her own, scared and overwhelmed for the first time in quite a while.

            “I can’t Kitty,” she whispered, “I, I know someone who might be able though.” As she said that Marinette looked at Tikki who nodded in agreement, quickly taking the cookie presented to her and gulping it down.

            “Tikki _transforme moi_!”

             Knowing time was of the essence she quickly lifted Chat with a jolt and took off towards Master Fu’s

            “Come, bring him in quickly,” Fu ordered as Ladybug carried Chat in and laid in down on a mat that it seemed the guardian had already prepared. Fu simply nodded at his kwami before the small being took off in search of something.

            “I’m surprised Plagg hadn’t dropped the transformation yet, he’s bound to be exhausted.

            Marinette dropped her transformation and Tikki smiled softly, “He’s protecting him from the pain master, Plagg always has been protective of his kittens.” Fu hummed in agreement as he assessed the situation.

            “You’ve made up your mind then?” he asked the leather-clad boy. Chat grit his teeth and nodded, “I-I can’t go back to being trapped all the time, I can handle it just… Marinette I don’t want you to see this,” he finished turning his head away from her gaze.

            “Chat, we’re partners, I’m not leaving your side,” she said advancing.

            “Please, Bug. I don’t want you to see me this weak.”

             Marinette stared at him a moment before kneeling beside him, and wrapping his fingers in the palm of her hand with a gentle squeeze.

            “Chat, you are the bravest person I know, I could never think you were weak. And I’m not leaving you, I won’t, not now not ever,” she finished, face clearly set. She noticed a similar reaction in her partners face. Wayzz returned with a small myriad of equipment, all of which had Marinette gulping in unease.

             When Chat tried to look, she redirected his head, “Don’t worry about that, just look at me kitty.”

             “I’m sure you realize you will have to drop your transformation and allow me to cut the object out, you will heal rapidly and the wound should be healed within several hours but, it will be quite painful.” Fu interrupted, time was of the essence.

             Chat nodded and with a shuddering breath,

             “Plagg _, transforme moi_.”

             It took a moment for the pain to register in Adrien’s mind, but when it did, it was all consuming. He tried not to yell, he honestly did, but all his body could do was force the air from his lungs in a closed mouth groan and tense horribly. The sound was awful, and he would have felt bad for the horrible grimace on Marinette’s face if he could think about anything other than the fiery throb coming from his thigh.  He vaguely noted a soft warmth nestle into the crook of his neck and felt some comfort. When he realized the guardian hadn’t even started working yet he nearly panicked. Adrian gripped Marinette’s hand tighter, trying to be mindful not to hurt her, and he grit his teeth so hard Marinette could see the tensing muscle.

             “Ju-st d-do it,” he hissed out before squeezing his eyes shut.

             Fu quickly made a cut through the boys jeans and readied his forceps, looking to Marinette.

             “You will have to hold him down, it is unlikely he will be able to remain still.”

             Tikki wiped a stray tear from Marinette’s cheek and then took vigil beside the broken boy. Marinette tightly held down Adrien’s ankle and in seconds she had to fight to keep it on the floor as base instinct tried to force Adrien to get away from whatever was happening to his body. His fingers ground into the mat below him as he tried not to yell and failed at keeping himself still.

             One thought ran through both of their minds, ‘ _We’re still_ **_kids.’_ **

            It didn’t take long for Adrien to pass out from the pain. The bullet wound itself was excruciating but the sensation of their mentor digging around the broken flesh forced his brain to respond with some mercy and allow him unconsciousness. Marinette was practically sighing in relief when he did, though the guilt at that thought would linger and she believed it would for a while. Soon after he turned dead weight Fu was able to successfully remove the bullet and fully cleanse and wrap the wound. Marinette watched the older man efficiently insert an IV catheter and hang a small bag of fluid to help replace what was lost. As she observed his delicate touch, she further explained the situation. Her miraculous cure hadn’t failed her and there was nothing wrong with her powers, there was just another form of evil that was a ‘natural’ process of life. Humanity itself was corrupted and all it took was one second for some dastardly crook to fire a bullet into the body of her partner. After that Fu left Marinette to sit beside Adrien as he rested, the teen finally looking relaxed.

             Now that she had a moment to decompress, Marinette was drowned in thoughts and feelings that she hadn’t had time to process in the midst of the chaos. She became all too aware of the fresh blood she’d accumulated on her body. Marinette shuddered before rushing to the washroom and cleaning as much off as she could. Once properly cleansed she returned to her Adrian’s side. His hair was so untidy from his movement that she could easily picture the ears and mask. Marinette sat and pulled her knees up under her chin. Despite her best effort, she began sniffling. Her partner, her best friend, had been hurt. She would never forget the sounds she heard. There was also the startling revelation that this was _Adrien_. The same Adrien she was also great friends with and had been for years. The Adrian who still held a special place in her heart. The revelation caused her breathing to pick up and a tightening of her chest. All this time, it had always been him. She couldn’t even begin to think about all the embarrassing moments that crossed over now that she knew Chat and Adrian were one in the same. None of that mattered right now though. She forced herself to take a deep breath and remain the rock she had to be. Marinette wasn’t transformed at that moment, but this was a job for ladybug and damn it if she wasn’t going to act like it. She remained still as a few tears befouled her cheeks and she closed her eyes, angrily wiping them away. Her attention was aroused when she felt a light touch on her ankle. Marinette peaked out and saw Adrien with his eyes still closed, but his hand resting against her softly.

            “Don- cry, M’lady,” he murmured as he slowly woke up more peeking his eyes open tentatively. She sniffed before laughing,

            “Sorry, I was just worried about you.”

            “Don’t be, I-I’m alright, cats honor.”

            Marinette found that hard to believe, even with the knowledge that his healing would be remarkably fast. She couldn’t imagine ‘okay’ as a descriptive for the boy whose body she had just forcibly held down while blood slowly fled from the hole in his leg. _Dieu_ he sounded so much like her Chat right now.

            “So…you’re Chat,” Marinette stated.

            “And you’re Ladybug.”

…

            “I can’t believe we knew each other this whole time.”

            The idea was so laughable. Toiling over keeping their identities secret, assuming they had no idea who the other was, it was hilarious. Maybe it was the resolution of all the fear, but suddenly Marinette started giggling. Her giggles turned into outright laugher as she realized that her former crush had blatantly told her he loved her once and she had turned him down!. Adrian stared at her, perplexed, before he grinned and started laughing as well, lighter but full of mirth. Marinette slowly tuned down her laughter and wiped the wetness that had pooled in her eyes away before sighing heavily.

            “I’m, I’m so sorry Chat. I should have seen him, I-I should have been able to _stop_ him-“, Marinette abruptly stopped talking when she felt Adrian’s hand tightly grip her wrist, the look in his eyes matched the strength of the grip.

            “No. I will not allow you to blame yourself for this.” Adrian tentatively rolled his ankle, finding the movement stiff but not blindingly painful.

            “We take risks, that’s part of it, and I would always rather it be me than some civilian.”  He let go of Marinette’s wrist and used the hand to help sit himself up, grimacing at the stretch in his leg. It was nearly healed, but he’d still feel it for a while.

            “I would always rather it be me than you.”

            Marinette stared at the floor and closed her eyes.

            “Chat,” she whispered, Adrian shook his head.

            “Not Chat. Adrian. Right now, I’m Adrian.” A deep shuddering breath and Marinette smiled back at her partner,

            “Adrian.”

            Before either of them could say another word, Master Fu reappeared, the three kwami following close behind. Plagg beelined for his holder, snuggling into his neck only to frown and pull away.

             “We never speak of this.”

             “Yeah sure Plagg, wouldn’t want anyone to think you cared.”

             Fu began looking over the wound, noting that it was nearly healed. He removed the IV and set aside the materials.

             “The injury should be completely healed by tomorrow morning, you should avoid walking on it the rest of the evening.” Adrian rolled his shoulders, stretching the ligaments in his upper body as Marinette slowly stood from her position.

             “I will take him home Master; Tikki, _transforme moi_ ,” One quick flash and Ladybug was present once more. Ladybug’s cheeks flushed with a smile after her transformation was completed. She reached out her hand to Adrian.

             Adrian’s eyes shot open at the sight.

             “Wow,” slipped out of him and Ladybug blushed heavily as he took the hand she offered him and gently stood with the weight on his good leg.

             “Thank you Master,’ Adrian said, Master Fu simply put a hand up.

             “No need, I will always assist if I can.” Before Adrian could refuse, Ladybug wrapped his arm around her shoulders and readied herself to make a quick exit as soon as they left the shop.

             “Make sure he rests Ladybug,” Fu ended with a knowing look which Ladybug responded to with a nod.

             The trip back to Adrian’s home was quiet, the sun having already set. Sneaking him back in was just as easy considering the frequency he snuck out. Ladybug helped him onto his bed, settling him on his back comfortably. They both paused for a moment, gazing at each other.

             “I, I’ll stay until you fall asleep, just to make sure you don’t try anything dumb,” Ladybug finished with a smirk. Adrian relaxed, their usual banter comfortable.

             “You don’t trust me? I’m wounded, my lady,” he smirked at his own joke and Ladybug rolled her eyes.

             “You’ve got to be kitten me with these puns.”

             Adrian gasped dramatically, “Cat puns? You must have been truly worried about me.”

 

             Ladybug truly intended to sit and quietly wait for Adrian to fall asleep, intended being the key word. Instead she realized that they had continued chatting for hours, both of them used to not sleeping through the night. Eventually ladybug just dropped her transformation, their discussion about Jagged Stones best song becoming more heated. Before Marinette knew it, she was startled awake by her phone alarm. She jumped up out of the warm embrace shed been in. Looking around frantically she remembered what had occurred the day before and her blush burning brightly. She’d fallen asleep on Adrian’s bed. She’d been cuddled up _next_ to Adrian.

             Marinette looked over to the still sleeping figure next to her and let out a heavy breath. She quietly moved to the window, calling her transformation and beginning to head out the window.

             “See you at school Bugaboo.”

             Ladybug  blushed, and without looking back, swung out the window. She and her partner would have a LOT to discuss.


End file.
